After Neuter- Zero Appetite
I picked up my boy from his neuter at 10:30am and it’s noon here now. He’s grumpy and hiding in his house, kind of hunching on his paws, turns away from any offers of food and still hasn’t drank any water. I’m becoming concerned and wondering when do I need to do something about the eating &drinking?
Posted Sep 12, 2019, 4:04 PM UTC
55
Did you get pain medication for him? This is essential for recovery - 0.6 to 0.9 mg per kg of weight every 12 hours for the first few days is necessary. If the vet did not give you any please go back ASAP to get some - a bunny in pain will not eat. Pain medication helps a ton.
It is natural to have low appetite after neuter:
Try hanfeeding him favorite food often just so he nibbles a little. fresh herbs work well to awaken appetite. Also hay rubbed with banana may entice him.
If he is really not eating anything in a could hours you must try to syringe feed - mix some of his usual pellets with water until liquidy/pasty and slowly feed through a syringe every two hours. If you have a blender you can also mix in some fresh herbs. You can put a touch of banana of the tip of the syringe. You can even mix in a touch of banana or some no-sugar added baby food baby food. If you have Critical Care food even better, but if not pellet paste will work in the short term.
Also provide water through a syringe the same way. You can also steep some mint and offer that instead of water or add a touch of no sugar added juice to the water to encourage more drinking (use a bowl vs bottle).
Take a look at the threads below for post-op care advise that is very good:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html
https://imgur.com/a/3SemI
Yes, I have the bottle of metacam to give no earlier than 4
Ah ok... he might still be groggy in the first few hours, that's normal. Try handfeeding and if needed you might have to syringe feed for a day or so.